Smartphone Buying Guide: Best 2012 Phones (So Far)

The smartphone market is heating up once again as Microsoft and Nokia finally have a hero device out to push the Windows Phone platform, and it's priced quite competitively to boot. Also a handful of Android devices announced back in CES and MWC are finally seeing the light of day.

In the near term, the U.S. smartphone market is shaping up to become a three horse race. The iPhone is topping sales charts on every carrier it's available from, quite an accomplishment considering it does have some formidable competition. Android devices from Samsung and Motorola are selling well -- especially the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note, and Razr -- while the Lumia 710 briefly broke into the top three at T-Mobile. Nokia is hoping to repeat that feat with the Lumia 900 on AT&T. BlackBerry devices have failed to impress lately, so you'll note they are all but absent on this update.

Without further ado, check out our selection of the hottest devices currently out there (or those that are a short few weeks away from release). Each phone is listed alongside its feature highlights, specs and prices, from newest to oldest. To further aid you in making well-informed decisions on your next purchase, we've also added metascores from our Product Finder along with links to reviews besides each phone.